In the first semi-final of the Final Four in Belgrade, Istanbul narrowly defeated Olympiacos Piraeus with 77:74 (42:43). Madrid then defeated FC Barcelona 86:83 (34:45). The final will take place on Saturday (05/20/22, 7:00 p.m.). Before that (4:00 p.m.) Piraeus and Barcelona meet in the match for third place.
The Serbian Vasilije Micic threw the reigning Euroleague champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul into the final with a successful long-range shot at the last second and can continue to dream of defending the title. The German center Pleiss scored eight points in the semi-final success. The best scorer for the Turks was Shane Larkin with 21 points.
Barcelona gives up victory
FC Barcelona, who narrowly defeated FC Bayern Munich in the playoff quarter-finals, looked like the sure winner in the Spanish duel with arch-rival Real Madrid until shortly after the break. Then the Catalans gambled away a 12-point lead in the third quarter and went four minutes without a point. Real was also better in the final round and finally won 86:83. The best throwers for the finalists were ex-Bamberger Fabien Causeur and Guerschon Yabusele with 18 points. 26 points from former NBA professional Nikola Mirotic were not enough for Barcelona.
Source: dpa